Over the past 9+ months Blizzard has slowly announced the cross merging of specific realms. Where they have never revealed their secret formula on deciding who gets merged, there is an obvious attempt to balance many of the different sections of the game.

This becomes important when it comes to raw product and materials. With the cross realm merging there still won't be cross Auction House available. It is still a possibility that there will be a huge pseudo merge that will allow players to not just sell on a joint auction house but also trade items between players on realms. If/When this happens it will change the rules that players have developed to make their gold.

Currently even with the Cross Realm Zones (CRZ) and oqueue being very active you can see the changes that would happen in a massive grouping like this. Raw Materials would be available from multiple sources and not just from your own server. Gear and Rare items such as mounts and pets would double in availability almost overnight.

Sudden shifts in a system such as this can cause a huge bump in the road. Where it is all speculation currently, it isn't that difficult to project where things could go. Where raw materials would take a drop, ultimately it would increase production by crafters and settle down to a middle pricing unit.

Most players who played the auction house for years have understood that a major change needs to be done. The Auction House has become dominated by high end gold makers, with the little guy having a more difficult route unless they have learned the tips and tricks of making gold.

When your combined server is announced take a look at who is joining your little circle of friends. What is the name of the strongest guild from the new grouping? Do the Horde Rule or has the Alliance captured the hearts of your new CRZ friends? Your knowledge now might help down the road if Blizzard decides to dive into the deep end of combining Auction Houses.

The idea of uncorking a joint Auction House is farther down the road for Blizzard developers. That doesn't mean to not look and be prepared for the possible changes. Changes are always a blink and PTR patch away.